Yes, I’m a finger-flipper and a horn-honker in Fort Worth traffic. And it’s your fault

The narcissist behind the wheel

How I became a finger-flipper and a horn-honker in traffic: May I remind those of you who use your turn signals to indicate a move, it does not give you the right to make that desired move? It is only a notification of your intentions when that move is safe. Assuming it’s your right and impeding my progress shows a total disregard for other drivers and deserves a flip-off.

Your other narcissistic behavior of sitting at a green light and sending text messages on your smartphone while a whole line of your neighbors sits behind you is also offensive.

How selfish can you get? Honk, honk.

- Richard Rimestad, Fort Worth

Why teachers are leaving schools

With the Grapevine-Colleyville school district’s instructions on what teachers cannot say about race, gender, slavery and the founding of the United States, how many of the district’s decision-makers, teachers, parents and community members have read The New York Times Magazine’s “1619 Project” or an original-source scholarly article about actual critical race theory — an advanced academic concept that is not part of Texas’ public schools’ curricula?

How about helping kids learn to think critically and compare and contrast differing points of view?

God help the poor teacher who unknowingly gets it wrong. Considering the demands of managing increasingly bad behavior of students and parents and the risks of the next disturbed young man with almost unfettered access to high-capacity firearms, no wonder teachers are leaving and fewer replacements are in line.

- Susan Spencer, Nocona

How we use our words

Ellen Jovin’s Aug. 20 commentary about her “Grammar Table” program (6A) was a welcome release for me. I can’t describe myself as using close to perfect grammar, but there is one issue related to language usage that bugs the blue smoke out of me: “Often,” a word used frequently in everyday conversation, is frequently mispronounced.

In the late 1960s, Merriam-Webster’s dictionary showed the correct pronunciation of “often” as having a silent “t,” and that was it. Over the years, dictionaries evolved, and the pronunciations began including a hard “t” as an option.

I compare this to the use of the word “ain’t.” Folks might hear someone say, “Ain’t ain’t in the dictionary so ain’t ain’t a word.” It’s in there now.

I really wanted to use the Oxford comma here, too, but couldn’t work it in very easily.

- William Beck, Springtown

Teach your kids respect

Everyone wants better schools. It demands a true grassroots effort. Teach your children to respect their teachers and behave appropriately. It frees up a teacher’s time to teach.

Teach your children that education is a privilege and not a punishment. They might be motivated to partner with their teachers.

Petition your legislators to stop adding nonteaching responsibilities such as time-consuming paperwork, compliance regulations, excessive testing and administrative functions.

An enhanced work environment will go a long way toward retaining experienced professional educators who have loved your children and their jobs and will mentor those entering the field.

Teachers want to have time to relate to your children on an individual basis. Let’s allow them to do that.

- Pat Stevens, Fort Worth